Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu and official spokesperson, has described the narrative of Christian genocide in Nigeria as a “hoax” while defending the joint military operation between Nigeria and the United States that saw American forces strike targets in the country on Christmas Day.
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Bwala made the remarks during a heated interview on Al Jazeera’s “Head to Head” programme hosted by Mehdi Hasan, where he faced tough questions on insecurity, corruption allegations against President Tinubu, and his own transformation from fierce critic to presidential spokesman.
When challenged on why Nigeria allowed Donald Trump and the United States to bomb the country on Christmas Day, Bwala insisted it was a joint operation based on intelligence sharing.
“The United States government did not bomb our country. The decision by the U.S. government was anchored on the intelligence sharing between Nigeria and the United States and the agreement on the operation,” Bwala said.
He explained that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister when the decision was made to strike, and the minister subsequently contacted the President.
When pressed on Trump’s claim that there is a genocide against Christians in Nigeria, Bwala maintained his position that it was a “hoax.”
“We both disagree as to whether the so-called genocide in Nigeria was against Christians. We believe that it is a targeted killing by insurgents, Boko Haram, bandits, and all of this criminal element against the people of Nigeria — Christians, Muslims, and those who have not identified with any religion,” Bwala stated.
When Hasan asked if Trump was lying, Bwala responded: “It’s a half-truth in the sense that, yes, Christians have been affected, but the whole truth is that both Christians and Muslims have been affected. He’s butchering it. That’s his opinion. Everybody’s entitled to it.”
Hasan confronted Bwala with reports of civilian casualties from the strikes, citing testimonies from Nigerian citizens.
“Moriniki Saka said, ‘I began to scream for help. I had to crawl my way out of the room.’ The missile tore through her apartment building, according to the Washington Post,” Hasan said.
Bwala disputed the claims: “I am saying that the military operation that was conducted on that day was targeted at terrorists and we hit them.”
When Hasan pointed out that Nigeria has a history of accidental airstrikes, including one on Christmas Day 2024 for which compensation was paid, Bwala said: “I dispute that fact.”
Hasan presented statistics showing that 11,000 people were killed in conflict in Nigeria in 2025, up from 8,700 in 2023 — a 26 percent increase since Tinubu came to office.
@thenigerialawyer“Moving Between News Organisations Is Not Same As Calling Someone ‘Godfather Of Corruption’ Then Working For Him” — Al Jazeera’s Hasan To Bwala
“That’s a pretty awful record,” Hasan said.
“It’s awful. And we’re fighting hard day and night. That’s one of the reasons why the president traveled to Turkey, where we had bilateral agreement to deal with insecurity. That’s why we’re cooperating with the United States of America,” Bwala responded.
When Hasan noted that Nigeria is now the 5th deadliest country in the world, Bwala said: “I acknowledge the fact that we have insecurity in Nigeria. And until the hoax narrative of the Christian genocide, then we began to see back-to-back attack in Nigeria. We had, for the first 2 years of the president’s administration, a substantial peace in Nigeria.”
Hasan raised allegations that President Tinubu benefits from corruption through Alpha Beta Consulting LLP, an NNPC subsidiary that allegedly handles tax collection in Lagos.
“Why does Alpha Beta get 10 percent of all taxes collected in Lagos? As a private company, owned by President Tinubu and his associates. That’s an awful lot of money going to a private company owned by the president,” Hasan asked.
Bwala denied that Tinubu owns Alpha Beta: “The president has denied ownership of Alpha Beta.”
When pressed on how Alpha Beta won the contract, Bwala said: “Whether he won it, or the company won it through a competitive bid or through a sole source of discretionary, that was Lagos.”
The interview touched on the controversy surrounding Tinubu’s Chicago State University certificate and past allegations.
“In 1993, a federal court filing in the Northern District of Illinois listed Tinubu, your boss, as the owner of bank accounts containing hundreds of thousands of dollars from heroin trafficking,” Hasan said.
Bwala responded: “The president was not charged because the president or Mr. Tinubu had committed no crime. Under American jurisprudence, you can only allege after an indictment.”
When asked why Tinubu forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government in a civil forfeiture case, Bwala said: “The problem is, it’s civil. It’s not criminal.”
Hasan raised questions about Tinubu’s age, noting discrepancies in official documents.
“You’ve got a president who can’t tell us how old he is. He’s 84. No, he’s 74. His school says he was born in 1952. INEC says 1954. Some records say 1952. Chicago State University says he was born in 1952. Which would make him 72, which is fine. Why didn’t he use that as his date of birth for the election?” Hasan asked.
Bwala dismissed the issue: “The president was 70 years on that 29th of March 2022 when he celebrated it. And what age you are does not determine when you were born.”
Hasan challenged Bwala on his dramatic shift from being one of Tinubu’s fiercest critics to becoming his spokesman.
“You once said Tinubu has no scruples. You said he was responsible for a climate of fear in this country. You called him godfather for corruption. You said the APC was one of the most nepotistic governments ever. Now you work for him,” Hasan said.
Bwala explained: “I made the decision to leave the president because of the Muslim-Muslim ticket. After the election, we now go into governance. I see the president introducing reforms that were necessary for the growth of Nigeria. I made a U-turn to support him.”
He added: “Politics is dynamic. It is anchored on both national interests and personal interests. Facts can change opinion. And in this case, facts changed my opinion.”
On the controversial removal of fuel subsidies, which Bwala had previously criticized, he now defended the policy.
“Subsidy removal was necessary for the growth of Nigeria’s economy. 99 percent of Nigerian economists believe that the economy will become stable and grow better after the subsidies have been removed,” Bwala said.
When Hasan noted that 70 percent of Nigerians now cannot feed themselves, Bwala responded: “That is the unintended effect of the subsidy removal. And that subsidy removal was made to grow the economy. The economy is growing. It was inherited at 2.4, 2.7 percent. It is now 3.7 percent.”
Hasan raised concerns about attacks on judges and judicial independence, citing the case of Justice Mary Odili’s home being invaded by security forces and the arraignment of Supreme Court Justice Dattijo.
“You have judges being targeted in your country. Don’t you?” Hasan asked.
Bwala denied this: “No, we don’t. Your facts are wrong.”
The programme featured a panel of experts including Anu Adeoye, a journalist with the Financial Times; Ayesha Osori, a lawyer and development expert with Open Society Foundations; and Tunde Doherty, chairman of the APC ruling party’s UK chapter.
Osori challenged Bwala on human rights: “We have a democracy that has been entrenched. We have courts, and those courts have made pronouncements about how unconstitutional certain actions have been, and the government has simply not been abiding by those court orders.”
Adeoye questioned the economic narrative: “We’ve got a lot of people in this country who are struggling to eat, to buy food, to feed their families, to do things that their government should be looking after for them.”
On Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso leaving ECOWAS, Bwala said: “They said it’s the failure of ECOWAS. But it is actually the failure of Western foreign policy in that region.”
When asked about Tinubu’s 2023 promise of constant electricity within four years, Bwala said progress has been made through public-private partnerships.
“By the end of this first term you would have seen very obvious change that you’ll be happy,” he said.
When asked if people should not vote for Tinubu if electricity remains bad (as Tinubu himself suggested), Bwala said: “They will make the decision when that time comes.”
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